# Maria Byford

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{{Short description|Royal Air Force officer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= Maria Byford
|image= AVM Maria Byford.jpg
|image_size= 
|alt= 
|caption= 
|nickname= 
|birth_date= 
|birth_place= 
|death_date= 
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|allegiance= United Kingdom
|branch= [Royal Air Force](/source/Royal_Air_Force)
|service_years= 1991–2023
|rank= [Air Vice Marshal](/source/Air_Vice_Marshal)
|unit= 
|commands= [RAF Medical Services](/source/RAF_Medical_Services)<br />Medical Joint Force Support
|battles= [War in Afghanistan](/source/War_in_Afghanistan_(2001%E2%80%932021))
|awards= 
|relations= 
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}}
[Air Vice-Marshal](/source/Air_Vice-Marshal) '''Maria Byford''', {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|KHDS}} is a senior retired [Royal Air Force](/source/Royal_Air_Force) officer who served as [Chief of Staff Personnel and Air Secretary](/source/Air_Secretary) from February 2020 to July 2023.

==RAF career==
Byford studied [dentistry](/source/dentistry) at [King's College London](/source/King's_College_London), graduating with a Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) degree in 1991.<ref name="CoSP/AS">{{cite web |title=Chief of Staff Personnel and Air Secretary: Air Vice-Marshal Maria Byford QHDS |url=https://www.raf.mod.uk/our-organisation/senior-commanders/chief-of-staff-personnel-and-air-secretary/ |website=Royal Air Force |access-date=2 June 2022 |language=en-gb}}</ref> That year, she joined the [Royal Air Force](/source/Royal_Air_Force) (RAF).<ref name=idga>Speakers: Air Commodore Maria Byford, Institute of Defence and Government Affairs</ref> After a career in dentistry, she became Head of the Personnel Division at HQ Surgeon-General in 2011.<ref name=idga/> Following deployment as commander of Medical Joint Force Support in [Afghanistan](/source/Afghanistan) in 2014, she became Head of Future Healthcare at HQ Surgeon-General in 2015 and Head of [RAF Medical Services](/source/RAF_Medical_Services) in 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cambridgeraes.info/category/lecture/|title=Sir Arthur Marshall Lecture|publisher=Cambridgeshire Aeronautical Society|accessdate=12 February 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://issuu.com/rafnews/docs/raf_news_12_july_2019|title=Double first for Air Commodore Byford|date=12 July 2009|page=12|publisher=RAF News|accessdate=12 February 2020}}</ref> She was appointed [Honorary Dental Surgeon to the Queen](/source/Honorary_Dental_Surgeon_to_the_Queen) (QHDS) in 2015.<ref name=idga/>

In February 2020 Byford was appointed [Air Secretary](/source/Air_Secretary) with effect from 24 February 2020.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.raf.mod.uk/our-organisation/senior-appointments/ |title=Senior Appointments 10 February 2020 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=10 February 2020 |website=raf.mod.uk |publisher=Royal Air Force |access-date=12 February 2020}}</ref> She was involved in a RAF recruitment campaign to promote racial and gender diversity in the service, which [Sky News](/source/Sky_News) alleged discriminated against white men.<ref>{{Cite web |title=White men who failed to join RAF furious after no one is sanctioned over botched diversity drive |url=https://news.sky.com/story/fury-at-lack-of-sanction-for-raf-over-botched-diversity-drive-as-soldiers-face-10-000-fine-for-getting-drunk-12934256 |access-date=2025-03-19 |website=Sky News |language=en}}</ref> She retired from the RAF in July 2023.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.raf.mod.uk/our-organisation/senior-appointments/|title=Senior appointments|publisher=Royal Air Force|access-date=6 August 2023}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{s-start}} 
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=[Christina Elliot](/source/Chris_Elliot)}} 
{{s-ttl|title=[Air Secretary](/source/Air_Secretary)|years=2020–2023}} 
{{s-aft|after=[Simon Edwards](/source/Simon_Edwards_(RAF_officer))}}
{{s-end}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byford, Maria}}
Category:Living people
Category:Royal Air Force air vice-marshals
Category:Female air marshals of the Royal Air Force
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:21st-century British dentists
Category:Alumni of King's College London
Category:Place of birth missing (living people)
Category:Royal Air Force Medical Service officers

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Maria Byford](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Byford) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Byford?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.